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I'm fixing up my Turkish Mauser 8mm for deer hunting season. I've only hunted with a Savage .270 previously.
I'm getting a scope, sighting it in etc... I plan on using these rounds to hunt with. How accurate is the Mauser at say 100 yards, 200 yards, 300 yards and so on. My .270 was able to reach out to 200 yards like it was second nature... but since this is a new rifle and a new round how would it differ?
Thanks.
This should answer it for you. Straight off Remington's website.
Cartridge Information
Index Number Cartridge Type Weight (grs.) Bullet Style Primer No. Ballistic Coefficient
R8MSR Remington® Express® 170 Soft Point Core-Lokt® 9 1/2 0.205
Velocity (ft/sec)
Cartridge Type Bullet Muzzle 100 200 300 400 500
Remington® Express® 170 2360 1969 1622 1333 1123 997
Energy (ft-lbs)
Cartridge_Type Bullet Muzzle 100 200 300 400 500
Remington® Express® 170 2102 1463 993 671 476 375
Short-Range Trajectory
Cartridge Type Bullet 50 100 150 200 250 300
Remington® Express® 170 0.2 zero -2.4 -7.6 -16.1 -28.6
Long-Range Trajectory
Cartridge Type Bullet 100 150 200 250 300 400 500
Remington® Express® 170 1.6 zero -4.4 -12.0 -23.7 -62.8 -128.9
Unless your Turk has been rebarrelled, you can count on it being at least 50 years old.
Statistics mean nothing. Drop charts mean nothing.
The only thing that matters is your particular rifle, which could be original, refurbished, a parts gun and I've seen several that had extreme amounts of headspace that it wouldnt even fire a round, the firing pin simply pushed the cartridge far enough into the chamber that it would not fire.
Some are downright dangerous and yours should be checked by a competant gunsmith with a headspace gauge to make sure that it is. The barrel could be new or it could be totally shot out...they run the extreme from new to terrible and you wont know until you get it.
Now that we have that out of the way, the 8mm round is on par with the .308 and it is a fine round for killing deer.
If you are using military surplus ammo, make sure that using FMJ is legal for hunting in your state, in most states it isnt. The milsurp stuff can be all over the place as far as accuracy,power and reliability. I once bought 1400 rounds of 8mm, at least half of them did not fire, and many had cracked cases. Some milsurp is hotter than others.
If your rifle shoots and is accurate, it can be a great rifle. If not, you can restore it to originial condition or sporterize it. Many sporterized rifles are great hunting rifles but it takes someone with the tools and the skills to do it.
I've seen a Turkish Mauser put 1 inch groups at 100 yards, granted he was using handloads.
The round is sufficient for deer. I would not use Milsurp rounds for hunting. Choose a good hunting round from Remington, Fedral, etc. The accuracy will depend on 'your' specific rifle.
8x57 Mauser Rifle Cartridge
The round is ample+; the rifle maybe not so. A little time at the range should determine its usefulness as a hunting rifle.
Hummm...I had a friend that had an 8MM...probably not Turkish, maybe German. I recall it was very long and after firing 3 rounds, thought my shoulder was dislocated. I have a 30-06 and it made that gun look like a .22 compared to a canon. Too much overkill for hunting anything on N. American continent unless maybe grizzly. Maybe for killing elephant or a hippo size target it would be ok. We kind of figured it was for de-tracking a tank or something...LOL. Get you a cheap SKS in 7.62 x 39 or an old Russian or Swedish 7.62 x 54R rifle. Much cheaper to shoot and will knock em down...not to mention you will still have a usable shoulder afterwards.
This is what I plan to do... Please tell me if I am missing anything or if I should do anything different.
First thing is I need to change the bolt from a strait bolt to one that curves... like this: 11659 - Mauser Bolt Handle
I plan on getting that kit to make the conversion. I hear you can't cycle the bolt when you have a scope/scope mount over the receiver.
Secondly I am going to attach this scope mount (that sits over the receiver). I don't like the ones that sit on the rear sights, I think it looks tacky and I'd have to get one of those special eye relief scopes or something... I forget what they are called. I don't want one. I like my eye being right up on the scope... well not literally on it, but you know what I mean. 11652 - Mauser 98/Yugo Scope Mount Warranty
Lastly I am going to get a 3-9x40 scope of some sort (I haven't decided on one yet), bore sight it with a laser say at 100 yards give or take, then fine tune it at the range.
Any tips or pointers to my above plans?
My dad had an 8mm Mauser, German made, and it is comparable to the 30/06 in game-taking power. It will reach out considerably further than the 7.62 x 39mm. Pay close attention to the caliber markings on the barrel-there are two different bore sizes and the later versions had a slightly larger bore-I forget now the exact dimensions but it could be looked up easily enough. With a turned down bolt handle and a good scope mounted it will make a very nice hunting rifle if the barrel is not shot out. You might want to put a slip-on butt pad on it because that steel butt plate has absolutely no give to it!
Even if the barrel is pitted, it still might shoot OK with the proper hand load, if you care to roll your own.
I think the best option here is just to trade my Turkish for another Mauser with a bent handle, then mount a scope. I may have to throw a few more dollars into it, but in the end it will be worth it. I don't feel like pulling my hair out trying to saw off a steel bolt then kill my power drill attempting to put a drill bit down into it...
What does an average 98 run usually? I'm not looking brand new, but I don't want a hunk of junk either. I like my old mil surplus rifles to have some character to them. My local FFL said he had an Argentine Mauser in 7.65x53. They have the bent handles... A clean trade is ideal. I have a 1945 Ankara M1938 Turkish currently and I am wondering what I could get for it in a trade, or even cash value. It has no pitting, it has a moderate looking dark walnut stock. Overall looks used, but not beaten.
I've been shooting Mausers for 50 years. Started out shooting groundhogs with 123 gr. bullets and iron sights. Have shot about 35 deer with them. Use 170 and 196 gr. bullets. Get the Sellier & Bellot 196 gr. for the full power, or handload. Norma shells are great, too. Of my four Mausers, all of them are good for about an inch at 100 yards. German snipers were deadly out to 6-8 hundreds yards. You can't beat a Mauser. Best of luck. And Mauser 8mms don't kick, they push. I'm 120 lbs and 5'7" and I've fired 30+ rounds of military loads wearing only a t-shirt. Our domestic ammo is way underpowered. If you don't handload -- which I don't -- get one of your "careful" buddies to work up some loads for you. That's what I did for years. Again, all the best and good hunting.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pro2A
Understand, most domestically produced ammo is loaded to old M/88 pattern 8mm Mauser specs so people with very old (pre 1905) Mausers won't blow up their rifles. 7.92×57mm Mauser - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Read about the cartridge and the changes the cartridge AND rifle went through with the transition of the 1888 pattern round and the 1905 pattern.
The M/88 pattern rounds are lower power and were made for early Mausers which did not have strong barrel steels and had different bore dimensions.
A full power 1905 pattern factory load might be designated by 8mm "JS" or "IS". Both of the designations roughly mean "infantry, spitzer".
If you have a capable rifle, it would be very advantageous to use full power loads producing closer to 3,000 ft-lbf (30-06 and .270 power) for hunting or load your own up to those specs. The lower power domestic factory loads like the Core-Lokts you showed only have around 2,200 ft-lbf of energy.
Even with full power loads, the trajectory will not be as flat as your .270 at extended ranges.